Vegetarian ecofeminism is a branch within the field of ecofeminism, which examines the connection between the oppression of women and the oppression of nature. Vegetarian ecofeminism extends beyond ecofeminism because it believes that the way in which humans exploit and kill animals should be distinctly recognized, and that the oppression of humans is linked to the oppression of animals. Vegetarian ecofeminists integrate the consideration of nonhuman animals in their analyses, along with race, class, gender, and nature. Through the concept known as intersectionality, it is recognized that sexism, racism, classism, heterosexism and other forms of inter human discrimination are all connected. The concept of speciesism is central to distinguishing between vegetarian ecofeminism and ecofeminism, and it strongly links the hierarchies created among animals to the hierarchies created among humans. Distinguishing between ecofeminism and vegetarian ecofeminism is important because of vegetarian ecofeminism's focus on the oppression of animals provides connections between the other linked forms of oppression, but specifically the oppression of women.
Speciesism
Speciesism is a form of oppression central to the ecofeminist concept, and the belief that speciesism is a valid form of oppression that must be eradicated is at the center of most vegetarian ecofeminist arguments. It is used to support the exploitation and killing of nonhuman animals. Much like any other form of oppression, speciesism is a social construction that benefits the dominant at the expense of the oppressed.
Humanism in opposition to vegetarian ecofeminism Humanists believe that speciesism is not a "bad -ism" like racism or sexism, because while women, people of color, and any other group of oppressed humans are moral humans, nonhuman animals are not and therefore do not deserve the same rights. According to humanism, the domination of humans over animals is justified, and animals are indeed meant for human consumption. Human rights are inherently more important than animal rights because their biological differences from human makes them morally different as well. Vegetarian ecofeminists argue that there is an inherent bond between humans and nonhuman animals, and the human supremacy and degradation of animals that ensues is a social construction meant to undermine the human-animal bond. It is in fact not the characteristic of an abnormal few who care and empathize with nonhuman animals, but the normal state for most humans. This is exemplified by the cross-cultural practice of pet-keeping or the usage of animals in therapy, which demonstrate the strength of the bond between humans and animals. The act of expiation in which humans justify the act of killing nonhuman animals shows that humans are inclined not to harm animals, otherwise there would not need to be any mechanisms created cross-culturally to help deal with the guilt felt in killing animals.
Hierarchies The hierarchy created among nonhuman animals validates the hierarchies created among humans. Humans identify more closely with nonhuman animals that have human characteristics, and this allows for humans to create a hierarchy that places nonhuman that humans are able to identify more closely with at the top, and those it shares less characteristics with at the bottom. Humans have evolved to sympathize with beings similar to themselves. This allows humans to justify the killing of certain animals over others, because due to the hierarchy humans have created, some animals are of lesser value and therefore have fewer rights. For example, Western cultures kill cows, chickens, and fish for consumption, but find it morally wrong to kill lions, dogs, and dolphins. That is because Western moral values find connections between humans and lions, dogs, and dolphins, but do not find connections between cows, chickens, and fish, and therefore value certain species' lives over others. Which species are valued over others differs depending on culture, country, religion, etc., as can be seen in the fact that it is socially acceptable to eat dogs in many Asian cultures, but is seen as morally corrupt in most Western cultures. The lack of a universal hierarchy for nonhuman animals shows that it is a social construction created to benefit humans. Vegetarian ecofeminism argues that the killing of any animal is part of a larger system of oppression, and that instead of choosing one animal over another, or a human over a nonhuman animal, humans should care about all oppressed subjects and should be invested in ending each subject's oppression, so as to end the oppression of all beings. The creation of hierarchies in nonhuman animals can also rapidly become the creation of hierarchies in humans, and thus one can once again observe how speciesism is linked to racism, classism, sexism, and other forms of oppression. Vegetarian ecofeminism asserts that as long as "humans are violent toward animals, they often are violent toward one another" and this "vicious circle of violence and destruction can end only if and when the human species learns to form harmonious relations – non-hierarchical and non-exploitative – with other animal species and the natural world."
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